Michigan teacher accused of having sexual affair with 13-year-old

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – If Victorian poet Alfred Lord Tennyson were alive today, he might feel compelled to reword his famous lines from “Locksley Hall.”Whereas Tennyson originally composed: “In the spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love,” his 21st century counterpart might write: “It’s spring and teachers’ thoughts perversely turn to molesting students.” Or such seems the case with revelations of teacher sexual misconduct with students coming to light on a daily basis.

Among the latest is the case of Robert Yaek, a 25-year-old math and science teacher. Yaek resigned from Armada Middle School, located in Macomb County, Michigan, after accusations he was sexually involved with a 13-year-old seventh-grader.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the alleged affair occurred between February and May of this year. Reports state Yaek and the student engaged in sexual activity in a school closet near his classroom and rented a house in the small bedroom community of Armada. Yaek also is accused of texting lewd photos of himself to the student’s cell phone.

Yaek was arraigned June 6, and “is charged with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carry possible life sentences; two counts of using a computer to commit a crime, and one count each of distributing sexually explicit matter to children and possession of child sexually abusive material,” the newspaper reported, adding, “He was ordered held in the Macomb County Jail on a $400,000 bond during arraignment in 42-1 District Court in Romeo. A not guilty plea was entered. His preliminary exam is set for June 18.”

Superintendent Michael Musary said district officials received information about the situation but had no evidence and turned the information over to police. He said Yaek was removed from the classroom, and he resigned two days later.

“We were shocked obviously, very, very disappointed,” Musary told the Free Press. “There’s no room in society for these allegations,” he said. “The first minute we received these allegations and because these allegations were so serious, we acted swiftly and precisely to protect all of our students.”